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Despite suffering a significant injury ahead of her return to the ring at ONE Fight Night 27, Denice Zamboanga never once considered bowing out of her interim title bout.
Riding into the legendary Lumpinee Stadium riding an impressive three-fight win streak, 'The Menace' was matched up with Ukrainian sensation Aloyna Rassohyna, the winner emerging as the interim ONE atomweight MMA world champion.
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It took less than three rounds for Zamboanga to bring home her first 26 pounds of ONE gold, scoring a dominant second-round knockout against Rassohyna and setting the stage for a title unification clash with reigning atomweight MMA queen Stamp Fairtex.
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Speaking with Mitch Chilson immediately following her victory, Zamboanga revealed that she had sustained an injury two weeks before fight night that left her arm immobile. Still, the Filipina fan favorite was confident that she would come out on top.
"The delays and the injuries, I’ve been through a lot of injuries," Zamboanga said. "These last two weeks, I couldn’t move my left arm, but I still didn’t cancel the fight because I knew God would give me this belt."
Denice Zamboanga open to defending her interim title while Stamp continues to recover
With Denice Zamboanga's win at ONE Fight Night 27, she's all but guaranteed a fight with three-sport superstar Stamp Fairtex. However, 'The Menace' isn't closing the door on potentially defending her interim atomweight crown while Stamp continues to recover from knee surgery.
"It's up to ONE Championship because I don't think I have injuries after this, but yeah, it's up to ONE Championship," Zamboanga added.
Originally, Zamboanga was scheduled to square off with Stamp in June. Sadly, the Thai was forced to bow out of the bout after tearing her meniscus during a training session. Since then, Stamp has undergone surgery and is on the road to recovery.
Should 'The Menace' sit and wait for Stamp to step back inside the Circle later this year, or should she stay active and put her interim title on the line against the next available contender?
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II will air live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, January 24 in U.S. primetime.
